NorthSideSox72

Twins, no contest. AL Central team, well-managed, play the game the way it should be played.

Here is where I put my geekdom on my sleeve. My wife and I both took Latin in high school. We decided on a new phrase, which we may put on a sign to hold up at the World Series: Credo in Crede "Believe in Crede" Gotta love it!

I think we line up darn well in NL format. The only person we lose is Everett, and as far as I can tell, he hasn't done anything useful in the playoffs. He was among the worst DH's in the league during the regular season, for that matter. We can use Everett (who hits switch), Ozuna, Perez and Politte (no, I'm not kidding, if we are about to put him in anyway) as pinch-hitters nicely. And with Crede and Uribe hitting pretty well in the post-season our lineup is pretty strong up-and-down: Pods Gooch Dye Paulie AJ A-Row Crede Uribe P

Thanks for the update, Bones. Glad to see it wasn't a "riot", and glad to see so many jubilant fans!

I've been in more than one college town "riot", once in the law enforcement role. I find nothing amusing or "awesome" about it. A bunch of college kids burning and breaking things because a sports team won something? Yeah, that's cool. Destroy other people's property to make your enjoyment more complete. And hurt some people while you're at it. A twenty-something kid died in one of the crowd control incidents I responded to. Grow up. I hope all the instigators were arrested, and I hope the process was painful.

If anyone is trying to find refuge in a north side Sox bar, try Lemmings, at 1850 N. Damen in Bucktown. It's a mellow, neighborhood bar with cheap beer and friendly folks. Schlitz is the house specialty. They show all the games, and the place will be filled with Sox fans for the game.

So, I read through the pages on this thread, and I don't see the answer to this question: does anyone know if/where I can download that opening reel they show on the scoreboard at The Cell during pre-game? The one with shots throughout history, set to music from Pirates of the Carribean? Just curious. If anyone knows where I can get that, I'd appreciate the info.

Not sure if anyone read this, probably some have. It was front page Trib today. I don't see it on the board yet (which surprised me), so here it is. Written by my brother-in-law... Link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-0...ll=chi-news-hed Copied In: CALLING ALL EXPERTS A forensic scientist. A physicist. A judge. How would THEY get to the bottom of the 3rd out that wasn't? By James Janega Tribune staff reporter Published October 14, 2005 If you were a crime scene investigator officiating the game, you would have wanted to seal off home plate. You would search behind the plate for impression evidence, for what is called "compression tool marks"--but which really just means "where the ball hit," if it did. You would inspect the ball for striations and dirt particles and compare their refractive index with soil minerals. You'd hunt for more video documentation. Still, said Mick Kopina, group supervisor in the microscopy and trace unit at the Illinois State Police Crime Lab, "If I was the catcher responsible for the third out, if you don't hear him say `out,' your job is to stand up and tag the guy." But it was no crime scene, at least as far as Chicago sports fans were concerned. In the clutch situation was plate umpire Doug Eddings. And still in question is what happened. In viewing the replays of what may become the Zapruder film of baseball, fans accustomed to excruciating observation and difficult decisions in their own professions could agree Thursday only on the basics of the play: The call setting up a ninth-inning White Sox victory in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the visiting Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim belonged to Eddings alone, and it was as tough as they come. Had they been there behind the plate, a federal judge would have cried for more evidence, an economist would have sought a less stressful decision, and physicists would see in it an experiment that needed to be re-created again and again and again. The confusion begins in a confluence of regulations, Major League Baseball rules 6.05 (B) and 6.09 (B), bound now to be remembered by a generation of sports enthusiasts. A catcher must have "legally caught" the third strike in flight; a batter becomes a runner when a third strike is not caught and first base is unoccupied. But was the third strike caught in flight, or not? U.S. District Judge Marvin Aspen, forming an opinion on "kind of prima facie evidence," decided that "the umpire's call was correct." "Having said that, everything occurred in a split second. And even the slow-motion camera doesn't really capture totally what happened," Aspen added. The judge said the primary evidence was the videotape and photographs. But if the play came up in his courtroom, he'd want to assess the demeanor of its key witnesses--Eddings, Sox batter A.J. Pierzynski and Angels catcher Josh Paul. He'd want to see physical evidence before making a decision. "And of course, if that were to come up in my courtroom, it would be my obligation to tell the attorneys where my sympathies lie," Aspen said. "How can one live in the city of Chicago in 2005, when we haven't had a baseball team of any accomplishment for decades, and say that you're not a White Sox fan?" Aspen also gives a passing grade to Eddings. "There are close calls, somebody has to make them, and I feel a lot of empathy with the umpire because he is dealing with a close call," Aspen said. "And no matter what he did, somebody would have been unhappy with him." The Official Major League Baseball Rules Book has 104 pages. The slightly thicker "The Physics of Baseball," by Yale physicist Robert K. Adair, has 142 pages, but in an e-mail Adair said the rules mattered more than physics Wednesday night, and he was stuck thinking about who saw the play closest, and how they interpreted what they saw. "From the TV replays, I would say we are talking about quarter-inch," he said. "Did the ball touch the ground as it went into Josh Paul's glove or didn't it? Only God knows. I note that there are physical limits to the acuity of the TV camera or the third base umpire and those limits are of the order of quarter-inch." No one could be sure, Adair concluded. But Adair (who admitted to being a White Sox fan) said he was impressed Pierzynski ran. "Remarkable!" he wrote. "Most batters would have just sat down." University of Chicago sports economist Allen Sanderson noted that umpires' decisions are made quickly and under enormous pressure. And Eddings picked the more stressful of two options. "The low-cost, easy way out would be to watch the body language of the catcher and the batter," Sanderson said. "If I had to make that split second decision, I would have looked at the body language of the catcher and the batter. It would have been `I swung and missed'; `I caught the ball.' And that would have been it." As a Sox fan, he has rationalized away what he thought at first was a bad call. "The Angels allowed a stolen base. Then the Angels' pitcher hung a ball to [Joe] Crede on the 0-2 count," Sanderson said. "Those other two things weren't a judgment call." Fermilab cosmologist Edward W. "Rocky" Kolb saw pitfalls in such outside perceptions. Sox fans will see the call one way, Angels fans the other. "When you try to analyze data from a very complicated experiment, it's very easy to pull out of it what you want to," he said. "The hardest thing to pull out of it is something you're not looking for or something you don't want to see." He added: "I would say as a completely objective White Sox fan, it's clear the ball was dropped." The play, he guesses, will be talked about for years unless the Angels win the series. "That could have been the first time quantum physics has entered a baseball game," he mused, before suggesting after some rumination that the ball was both caught and not caught. Two opposite things can happen at once in quantum physics. But not in baseball. - - - Wednesday's controversial play falls under 6.05(B) and 6.09(B) of Major League Baseball's official rules: 6.05 A batter is out when ... (B) A third strike is legally caught by the catcher; "legally caught" means in the catcher's glove before the ball touches the ground. 6.09 The batter becomes a runner when ... (B) The third strike called by the umpire is not caught, providing (1) first base is unoccupied, or (2) first base is occupied with two out; when a batter becomes a base runner on a third strike not caught by the catcher and starts for the dugout, or his position, and then realizes his situation and attempts then to reach first base, he is not out unless he or first base is tagged before he reaches first base. If, however, he actually reaches the dugout or dugout steps, he may not then attempt to go to first base and shall be out. ---------- *removed email address*

The Molina that played catcher last night had a lower pitched-to ERA for Washburn than the DH'd Molina. They showed the stat during the game, on the scoreboard in the park. I suspect that was the main reason. He was Washburn's Molina. With Washburn ill, all the more important to give him his most comfortable target to thrwo to.

That's pathetic. What a bunch of losers. Could they make Chicago baseball fans look any worse? I don't listen to the radio much, but I will from now on avoid WCKG at all costs.

QUOTE(Steff @ Oct 11, 2005 -> 02:49 PM) From a White Sox Press Release (10/11/2005 2:50 PM ET): "CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox will host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim tonight in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. Before the game's 7:00 p.m. start, recording artist Alice Peacock will perform the national anthem. White Sox legend Bill Pierce, who played with the Sox in the 1959 World Series, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch." Thanks, Steff! And yeah, who is Alice Peacock?

How about the first pitch? Any word on that, anyone? I am personnally very surprised that Hizzoner hasn't thrown one out yet. Maybe for the WS, if we get there.

Just a suggestion for a way to solve this issue: Make tickets to special events like this the same as airline tickets. That is to say, the ticket itself is associated with the individual purchaser. You need two things to get in: ticket and ID. This keeps brokers out of the business entirely. If you wanted to allow for transfer of the tickets, make them go to the ballpark, wait in line at the ticket window, and pay a fee to transfer. That way you can still have someone transfer a ticket at the last minute if they want to, but you prevent any markup occurring outside of the small fee. This would make life tough for brokers, but reasonable for people who really intend to use the ticket or give to someone else at face value. Not ideal, I admit. There are flaws. But food for thought.

We tried to get in yesterday. Got there around 12:30pm. At that time, there was a sign that said the BP bar area was "sold out". Didn't make much sense to me, since I didn't think you could pre-purchase those seats, but that's what it said, FWIW. ???

This article is great. In case no one outside Chicago noticed, the White Sox have a serious edge in this series that has no basis in statistics - it's called fire. They have a fire in their belly, created in great part by a serious inferiority complex. That fire kept them mashing in game 1. Boston's usual lazy play kept them from scoring another few runs in multiple situations, and made David Ortiz look like a washed up old man trundling into 2nd on what would have been a triple for any other player. This is great because it feeds the fire. It makes things worse for the Red Sox. I love it.

4-1 Beat Cubs, Mariners, Blue Jays, Twins Lost to A's

QUOTE(Rich McKinney @ Sep 19, 2005 -> 03:05 AM) Agreed. It's almost time for the Sox to cut loose Mr. Neanderthal so that he and his Bible can find employment elsewhere... Put Borchard in. He seems to have finally figured it out. Absolutely. This is the one guy in that clubhouse who seems to be nowhere near the same attitude and demeanor as the rest of the team. He has a history of off-the-field and on-the-field maturity problems, despite his bible-beating. And oh yeah, he isn't really all that great a hitter (certainly not a 3-hole guy). Cut him loose, get anything you can for him. Let Borchard/Anderson battle it out.

I can neither watch nor go, as I am in India. I have to wait to check online in the morning here, after the games are over there. I'm back next week though, so I'll be back in time for the post-season. If we can do well in this series, I think we can start to breathe easier about even MAKING the post-season!

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Sep 18, 2005 -> 10:46 PM) So let me get this straight, the Indians have been red hot for what, maybe a month? maybe 6 weeks? The Sox were hot for 4 months, have a 10-3 record against the Tribe and swept them coming into the 2nd half, have a 3 game lead in the division and it's the SOX who should be nervous??? Don't let the press or this Indian's team get in your head. Handle Business. Right on!!! Garcia usually steps it up against good teams. I like the matchups. I like the series. I'm over here in India on business, and I hold my breath every morning when I log on at the office to see if the Sox won. That little score makes or breaks my mood that morning (I hate to admit ). So for the sake of the Indians around me who could care less... GO SOX!!!

QUOTE(rcpweiner @ Sep 16, 2005 -> 03:27 AM) One of two things will happen from here on out. Either: 1. The White Sox will make the playoffs. 2. The White Sox will be participants in one of the largest chokes of all time. Now, if the first happens, I think we'll all be pleased. If the second happens, while we'll all be upset, we'll have ourselves a nice little tale to tell our grandchildren. Plus, more women (and men) will feel sorry for us and we will get laid more often. Trust me. That'll work as a pickup line. As long as you use puppy-dog eyes. Also, even if the second horrific scenario occurs, we're still in a lot better shape than a lot of us thought going into the season. I mean, here's a team that I HOPED would contend with the Twins for the AL Central. The Wild Card was out of the question, but I was hoping we'd keep it close with those damn Twinkies. And look what happened? We had a team that had one hell of a first half and then kind of slowed down and got tired towards the end. The bright side is that, we have a TON of the same players coming back next year. And with Kenny at the helm, this team could only get better. He's built a nice team for a good 3-5 year run at the playoffs. This is year ... oh, we'll say 2. We still got three left, ladies and gentlemen. If it doesn't happen this year, don't fret. Our rotation is probably going to be even better next year. And hell, maybe we'll even get some bats. In conclusion, I'm drunk. Here here! I posted something similar, minus the getting laid part, in the "If we miss the post-season..." thread.

The shortness of memory on this thread is staggering to me. In case we have forgotten, this manager has coached a team that most people picked for 3rd of 4th in the ALC to first place, and most likely, the playoffs. Also, this GM managed to put together a squad of people who, on a per dollar basis, have outperformed most or all of baseball. For those who wanted a big bat so desperately, let's remember that 1. there weren't many available, and 2. we cannot sell the farm for one OK hitter (which was all there was out there for the taking). KW picked up Blum to spell the infield here and there, not to start. He's just find in that role. Ozzie has some issues with figuring out pitchers, and he often abrasive. But he set the tone for a great season in that clubhouse. They are obviously not happy right now, but let's see how that finishes up. Either way, he got them in the position to even HAVE this discussion. Fire them? Not in a million years. KW deserves GM of the year, period. Oz deserves manager of the year IF we win the division. He at least deserves some kudos for his (and the team's) vast improvement over last year if not. Now get off it, and let's start being real Sox fans!

My vote: Won't happen. Sox win Friday and Sunday against a collapsing Minnesota team (but lose to Santana). Indians take 1 or 2 out of 3 from KC, but don't sweep. Let's say they take 2 of 3. That means the magic number is 10, and the lead is 4.5 games going into the last two weeks of the season. They have 6 or 7 against Cleveland, who they play well against, and some games against DET and MIN, who they usually do well against too. Cleveland's looking awfully good, but the numbers favor the Sox, even with Cleveland's weak schedule. The wildcard is attitude. Guillen and Buerhle's quotes from after the game need to take some effect and spread some clarity through the hazy locker room.

I agree with Ozzie's quotes. I agree with Buerhle's quotes. I like that both of them said what they did. I am still a bit of an optimist, so here is my positive perspective on this (since we all seem to need one). These quotes are different than those I've seen lately. The ones earlier this month, and in August, were much more laid-back. Or they were filled with excuses. Or in Oz's case, they were negative, but usually conditioned immediately after. Not today. Why is that good? Because the plain-old critical analysis I am now hearing is more like the clear thinking this team had the first few months of the season. I just hope the rest of the team gets their heads clear in time to open it up on this stretch run.

I'm not sure about Frank helping out in any emotional or mental way. Frank reminds us, and probably the players, of the old days. These aren't the old days. This is a new team with a whole new way of winning. I think they need to do it on their own terms. That said, it is hard to deny the knowledge Frank could provide. Maybe he can help out during BP and pre-game prep to provide that knowledge. What do people think? What effect would Frank have on the players right now?

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 11:19 PM) Not one bench player should be starting tomorrow. No Timo No Widger No Ozuna Guillen, you've rested your players continually throughout the season, and until recently, it was justified with our stellar record. Now, we're in a tight division race and need our starters on the field and not sulking on the bench. Buehlre needs to do his part as well. I just won't tolerate a loss tomorrow. Whether or not we're up against Greinke this team better f***ing win. I agree on the lineup. Ozzie has been good resting his key players this year, despite complaints from those who didn't understand how long the season is. But now, it's getting tight, and it's time to hit it hard. No Timo, No Widger. Maybe Ozuna, though. I sometimes think he's better in the lineup than Crede. Buerhle and the starters versus 16-loss (corrected) Grienke. I hope we destroy them.